Daniel Best

Urban areas across Latin America and the Caribbean are central to economic growth and social mobility. The OPEC Fund Development Forum's session "Cities of Opportunity: Unlocking Human Potential" will highlight how governments at national and subnational levels, together with development finance institutions and private sector partners, are structuring investment to strengthen productivity and expand opportunity across the region, particularly for women and young people. Opening remarks will be delivered by Ilan Goldfajn @igoldfajn, President of the Inter-American Development Bank Group @the_IDB. The panel discussion will feature: HE Adelien Wijnerman, Minister of Finance and Planning of Suriname Eida Gabriela Sáiz, Vice Minister of Economy of Panama @Mef_Pma Viviane Vecchi Mendes Muller, Secretary of International Affairs and Development at the Ministry of Planning and Budget of Brazil Daniel M. Best @DanielBestCDB, President of the Caribbean Development Bank @Caribank Sebastien Lahaie, Vice Chairman of the Board, Sudameris Bank Moderator: Dr. Melinda Crane, Independent TV Journalist Secure your virtual participation: opecfund.org/virtualforum

OPEC Fund Development Forum: Daniel M. Best @DanielBestCDB, President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) @Caribank, will be joining us as a speaker in Vienna on June 23!

How can multilateral development banks strengthen development impact in an increasingly uncertain global environment? This was the focus of the 2026 President’s Chat “Financing the Future: MDB Strategies for Uncertain Times” during the 56th Annual Meeting of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) @Caribank. OPEC Fund President Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa joined CDB President Daniel M. Best @DanielBestCDB, @CABEI_Org Executive President Gisela Sánchez @gisela_san102 and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage's Executive Director Ibrahima Cheikh Diong for a high-level dialogue on strengthening resilience, scaling development finance and better supporting vulnerable economies, particularly Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In his intervention, Dr. Alkhalifa emphasized that uncertainty has become part of the development landscape for many partner countries and highlighted the need for MDBs to move from shock response to shock readiness. “The real test is whether we can help countries move from strategy to implementation, and from implementation to results,” said Dr. Alkhalifa.